Vic U Names Education Professorship to Honour Dr. Jean Augustine
PRESS RELEASE
Victoria University is creating a new professorship to honour Dr. Jean Augustine for the decades she spent increasing access to education so that Canadians could improve their lives.
The Dr. Jean Augustine Professorship in Transformative Education will allow Victoria University to appoint a leading scholar to look at new ways of fostering critical thinking, problem-solving and innovation—skills that students need to succeed in today’s workforce.
“Dr. Jean Augustine’s story is a testament to the power of education to shape lives and create opportunities,” said Dr. Rhonda McEwen, president of Victoria University in the University of Toronto. “After immigrating to Canada from Grenada, she built a career as a teacher and principal, understanding first-hand how access to education opens doors and enables individuals to contribute meaningfully to society.”
Dr. Augustine then went into public service. She was the Metro Toronto Commissioner Housing Commission chair for five years. She was elected as the MP for Etobicoke-Lakeshore four times and served as Minister for Multiculturalism and the Status of Women. On Parliament Hill, she worked on women’s issues, poverty and drug abuse, and was responsible for having February recognized as Black History Month.
“These are all issues that still need much work and having the professorship named after her will inspire many generations,” Dr. McEwen said.
After leaving politics, Dr. Augustine was appointed as the first Fairness Commissioner for Ontario, a post that was created to ensure that workers with credentials earned outside Canada would have equal access to professions and trades in the province.
In 2009, she was appointed as a member of the Order of Canada in recognition of her contributions to Canadian society. She has been awarded honorary degrees from several universities for her outstanding achievements and dedication to public service.
Victoria University is an ideal home for the professorship, Dr. McEwen said. It offers the only undergraduate education program on the University of Toronto’s St. George campus through the education stream of Victoria College’s Vic One program for first-year students and its Education and Society minor.
Dr. Augustine expressed her appreciation for having the professorship named after her.
“I grew up knowing the importance of education,” she said. “Education raises the family nose,” she said, borrowing a phrase from her grandmother. “To get any place, you need to be educated. You need to have knowledge. You need to be able to maneuver the world. Especially in my later years working with women, I knew that an educated woman made better decisions about the health of her children, about the raising of her families, about the spacing of, about the future for her children. Education is almost the thing that opens up for us the opportunities to reach one's full potential.”
Victoria University hopes to have someone in the role for the 2025-26 academic year.
“Transformative education goes beyond the mechanics of what we learn in a classroom, beyond learning the elements on the Periodic Table or analyzing a poem,” said Dr. McEwen. “Education, if it is transformative, teaches us how to think about the world, how to ask the big questions and how to answer them, or how to find those answers.”
About Victoria University in The University of Toronto
Victoria University, federated with The University of Toronto, was founded in 1836 and is one of the oldest universities in Canada. As a recognized leader in undergraduate education in the arts and sciences and in graduate education in theology, Victoria University creates an environment where students discover how to match their distinctive talents to some of the world's most pressing issues. It is home to two outstanding colleges. Victoria College—with its small class sizes, its distinctive first-year programs, and its exceptional students—is recognized as one of the most rewarding places in Canada to pursue an undergraduate education. Emmanuel College prepares students from many faiths and backgrounds for leadership roles in religious contexts. The iconic campus is located on the east side of Queen’s Park, south of Bloor Street, in Toronto.
Media Contact:
Leslie Shepherd, Interim Director, Communications
Victoria University in the University of Toronto Leslie.shepherd@utoronto.ca
647-300-1753